It's common to feel bloated after Christmas. “Christmas is a time to relax and fill your home with love and festive joy," affirms author and food influencer, Freya Broughton. "But however hard we try, this time of year also comes with the temptation to overindulge,” she adds.
Freya's own relationship with food has been a journey. She spent her childhood, teens and early twenties battling extreme eczema, asthma and allergies, but credits painstaking trial and error with her diet, and a massive amount of research, for restoring her health after landing on a natural, wholesome diet that helped heal her.
“My ethos is very much about balance and self-love. So if you find yourself (understandably) getting a little overexcited over Christmas, listening to your body, being present, and relaxing into it, will ease your digestion more effectively than beating yourself up,” she insists.
When this happens in her own life, Freya turns to home remedies to help manage how she feels. “If I feel bloated, gassy, lethargic or blocked up during this period I turn to effective herbal teas such as rosemary, which is known for its therapeutic effects. It has been used in folk medicine to alleviate symptoms such as nervous agitation, headaches, inflammation, physical and mental fatigue and is full of essential oils to soothe the digestion,” she explains.
This winter, she published her book, I Love You To The Fridge & Back, which documents how she takes care of her body and mind with nutritious recipes. Already, it's got the thumbs up from two-time Michelin star chef, Tom Aikens who noted “one of the things that I always bang on about is that I wish people would learn how to cook for themselves in a healthy, well-balanced manner and Freya has completely gone and done that.”
However, Freya is quick to point out “I am purely sharing what worked for me," adding "this book is for informal purposes only and is not instead of medical advice.” Her approach is very holistic. “I focus on symptoms and have learnt through personal experience and thorough research what natural foods alleviate those symptoms for me,” Freya reveals. “The contents titled ‘How Are You Feeling’ includes moods such as ‘energised’, ‘creative’, ‘lethargic’, ‘hormonal’ and ‘gassy’, to name a few, that direct the reader to certain recipes that should ease them into a more comfortable balanced state,” she explains.
Below are three of her top recipes to soothe bloating.
Rosemary tea
- Fresh rosemary (a handful)
- Boiling water (2 cups)
- Teapot
- Strainer
- Cup
- Add the fresh rosemary to a teapot, cover with boiling water and leave to rest for 4 minutes
- Once ready pour into your over a strainer
Enjoy hot
I recommend a cup of this fresh rosemary tea at any time of day as a pick-me-up. Rosemary is from the mint and basil family. It is extremely good for your mood and concentration. Its aroma is calming and has been proven to reduce stress and anxiety. It always soothes my intestines, aiding comfortable and fluid bowel movements and reducing inflammation.
Bone broth
- Organic free-range roast chicken (1)
- Large onion peeled and sliced (1)
- Whole cloves of garlic peeled (8)
- Zest and juice of a lemon (1)
- Himalayan salt (1 tsp)
- Coriander seeds (2 tsps)
- Raw vegetables – parsnips, carrots, broccoli or leeks (1 handful)
- Chopped parsley for garnish
- Chopping board
- Sharp knife
- Baking tray
- Large saucepan with lid
- Ladle
Preheat your oven to 200°c
Place your (precooked) roast chicken on a chopping board and get your hands dirty. Split the bones from the meat. Place the bones in a roasting tray and try to get the bones as clean as possible. Keep the meat plus any jellified roasting juices from it with the skin and all trimmings. Place these in a large saucepan (with lid). Set aside.
Roast the clean bones in a baking tray at a high temperature 200°c in the oven for about 30 minutes. You want the bones to be a darker colour but not burnt.
In the large saucepan with the chicken meat and trimmings add enough filtered water to cover the contents completely. Into the saucepan add the onion, garlic, salt, lemon, coriander seeds and any vegetables you have you would like to use up. Hardy ones are best – parsnips, carrots, broccoli or leeks. Then add the roasted bones.
Bring the broth to the boil for about 15 minutes (do not over boil as you will spoil the delicate flavours) then put the lid on and place in the bottom right (warming oven) if you have an aga. You can leave this in here for up to 2 days. If you do not have an aga, simmer the brother on a low heat for as long as you can. 12 hours would be ideal if it is safe to leave the broth this long unmonitored (be careful of young kids around).
Using a ladle, serve into bowls top with parsley and add rice if required.
Bone broth is magic medicine for the gut. What's the secret? Collagen. Collagen is the most abundant protein in our bodies. It is a protein made of amino acids that connects cells and tissues together to help give structure to our nails, bones, skin, hair, tendons and ligaments. It is known to be great for speeding up our metabolism and reducing inflammation in the body. Its famous benefit is improving our gut health. I often have a cup when I have stomach aches and it tends to ease them effectively. If you are feeling allergic make this broth without meat and vegetables and try with the clean bones alone to keep it lower histamine, be aware the longer the bones are cooked, the higher the histamine levels will be. The key to the most nutritious and delicious bone broth is always roast the bones first. Animal bones are rich in selenium and zinc, which build strong bones, hair and nails. Cooking the bones or carcass for an extended period helps to extract the minerals from the bones, making the broth more nourishing. I always add coriander in one form or another as it has a high concentration of antioxidants including quercetin – a natural antihistamine fantastic for the gut as well. I choose chicken as it is my favourite but you can also use lamb, game, beef or veal bones.
Never put hot broth in the fridge. It attracts bad bacteria. Always make sure it is cooled and sealed.
Coconut kefir
- Organic milk kefir grains
- Cane sugar
- Organic coconut milk
- Muslin cloth
- Elastic band/string
- 1 litre jar (no lid)
- Wooden spoon
- Plastic sieve
- Teaspoon
- Measuring cup
- Scales
- Measuring jug
Firstly purchase your organic milk kefir grains online. There is a great website called Freshly Fermented.
You will need to sterilise the jar in the dish washer or a thorough hand wash to ensure no unwanted bacterias start to grow in the kefit.
In a large 1 litre har add the cane sugar, kefir grains, coconut milk and mix well with a wooden spoon (metal kills the grains).
Cut a small piece of muslin cloth and place it over the top of the jar and attach it with an elastic band or some string so the grains can breath.
Leave for 48 hours out of direct sunlight and away from any heat and out of the fridge.
Sieve the kefir into a glass and separate the yoghurt-like coconut kefir from the grains and consume.
Keep the grains in the sieve and rinse with cold water.
Then reset as above.
This coconut kefir has had a positive impact on my gut health throughout my health journey. The word kefir is from the Turkish ‘Keyif’, which means ‘feeling good’, and some say it is the original ‘manna from heaven’, a perfect description. Just a shot of kefir before you have breakfast can get your gut functioning by feeding all the good bacteria boosting your microbiome for the day ahead. It is best known for its probiotic benefits which aids digestion and gut health. It contains the probiotic ‘Lactobacillus kefiri’ which boasts high antibacterial properties. It has a yoghurt-like taste but holds many more health benefits. This coconut kefir contains a great deal of calcium, protein and B vitamins as well as bioactive compounds, for example organic acids and peptides which are fantastic for the good bacteria in your gut. The grains are not wheat type grains, they are grain-like colonies of yeast and lactic acid bacteria that have a cauliflower-like appearance. You may be wondering why I use can sugar. To put it frankly, the grains love sugar and eat them all up to thrive and function. After the fermentation process this sugar does not tend to enter our systems in this healthy nourishing coconut kefir drink.
You can purchase I Love You To The Fridge & Back here.
